1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector assembly for connecting a mobile phone to a peripheral device, and more particularly to a connector assembly for connecting a mobile phone to a peripheral device and having two connectors linked by a short cable to reduce the overall size of the connector assembly, thereby improving portability.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, mobile phones or terminals refer to handheld devices used for data transmission or wireless communication while the user is moving. It is a current trend that mobile phones are becoming smaller, sleeker and lighter to improve portability and multifunctional to implement broader functions and services.
Mobile phones have an interface terminal, generally at the bottom thereof, for purposes of multimedia processing and battery charging. A mobile phone can be connected to a peripheral device using a separate connector means plugged into the interface terminal.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional connector means is a cable 10 having an interface connector 20 at one end thereof and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) jack 30 or a small-sized adapter with a charger circuit. The cable is used to connect a mobile phone to a peripheral device (not shown) such as a PC or a printer, or to charge the battery.
Typically, different models of mobile phones have different types or shapes of interface terminals. When users buy a different or new model mobile phone, they also have to buy a new connector means that fits with that model. As a solution to this problem, mobile phone connection standards recommend that a 24-pin connector be used for the interface terminal and the connector means for battery charging and data communication.
Conventional connector means have a cable structure connecting the interface connector and the USB jack. The length of the cable increases the size of the connector means and thereby reduces the portability. Also, a separate case is needed to contain the connector means when traveling, which increases the price of the connector means. Since most conventional connector means are configured only to charge the mobile phone battery or to perform data transmission, another connector is necessary to connect a mobile phone to a peripheral device, such as a PC or a printer. Also, the mobile phone should be provided with another interface terminal for connection to a peripheral device.